The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SoMa (not to be confused with Hyatt Regency San Francisco in the financial district) surrendered itself to lenders. The 686-room hotel, the former Park Central San Francisco which re-opened in 2022 after $70 million in renovations, is the sixth-largest hotel in the city.
Highgate transferred control to Blackstone Mortgage Trust, an affiliate of the private equity giant Blackstone, after failing to pay $290 million in debt and fees.
Credit: Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SoMa
The city’s largest hotel, Hilton Union Square, stopped making payments on its debt and its owner turned the keys over to its lender. The same goes for Parc 55. The Four Seasons Embarcadero defaulted.
The Hyatt Regency’s owner missed a $250 million payoff deadline earlier in the year, unable to refinance the debt on viable terms. The hotel’s operating income fell by around three quarters compared to 2017. Travel to San Francisco declined, especially business travel, and meetings revenue fell off.
The city lost over 6% of its population during the pandemic, more than any other U.S. city. The city has more drug addicts than public high school students. Over 70% of San Francisco voters have said the city was on the wrong track. Here’s the epicenter of the city’s problems:
@freqmeek San Francisco Tenderloin Area Effects of The Fentanyl Crisis and The People Affected By This Epidemic. Where is our protection ? There are so many concerns and protections in place for drug users and homeless people but what about the working class that have to pray that they make it to and from work in this environment. These are real dangers faced every single day just to be able to provide for your family . They got money for war but can’t feed the poor. These elected officials both republican and democrats continue to fail the people. No humanity.. We have a crisis right here in our backyard and we’re funding wars in other countries .. #fyp #communityleader #dreamkeeper #sf #mayorlondonbreed #govgavinnewsom #fentanylkills #fentanylcrisis #opiobsessed #anxiety #relief #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #homeless #community #change #addiction #protect #humanity #safety #cityofsf #49ers #gsw #gswarriors #tragedy #crisis #epidemic #warondrugsfailure #electedofficials #sfblogger #culture #lifeinsf #mentalhealthmatters #accesstohealthcare #shaderoom #hollywood #joebiden #kamalaharris #sfpd #help #humanity #failedgovernment #politics ♬ original sound – FreqMeek
In addition to losing visitors, the pandemic made San Francisco vulnerable loss of residents – people left (whether for LA or other states), and the reason to stay in San Francisco was because of the other people who there there. Work from home and work from anywhere increasingly meant being in San Francisco was no longer the exclusive path to success in tech and adjacent industries.
Last month, voters ousted the mayor and rejected toxic board of supervisors member Dean Preston. Drugs, homelessness, and general lawlessness overtook the city and voters – still strongly liberal – rejected policies and politicians that they viewed as responsible for this.
So maybe San Francisco will turn itself around – the question is whether hotels and other businesses can hold out long enough until it does?
For those with Fox News, OAN, or Newsmax on in the background of your homes and offices, 24/7, you have been warned repeatedly that San Francisco, specifically, and California, generally, is a dystopian hellscape. Perhaps, you heard the same thing about other ‘blue’ states and cities, like NYC, Chicago, etc. Please keep believing that ‘truth’ and stay away. Thank you. Respectfully, signed, the rest of us. Peace be with you. Amen.
If and when the residents of SFO cure their TDS and MAGA Phobia and begin to elect politicians that will effectively address the issues of crime, homelessness and blight then SFO will become a beautiful city again. So will San Diego, which the downtown/Gas Light (I was just there) now looks like zombie land.
This change if it ever comes about also will entail taking the NGOs that rip off the tax payer and enforce the problem and putting them out of business. Like needle exchanges.
Gary, when did this site turn into Fox News with all the associated fear mongering? You have an actual story here but couldn’t help but remove any and all credibility you might have e with your biased editorializing. Please stick to points, hacks, and reviews. Leave the fear mongering to the professionals, we do unfortunately have plenty of them these days.
Dion’t hide the truth. San Francisco is exhibit 1 in Democrat Party urban policy. Created in a one-party state with easy access via direct referendum to the poitical process, it is what happens when you follow pure Dem polices. Compare with e.g. Dallas as an example of a city with a strong Conservative ethos and how it fared in the same conditions.
Everything bad in SFO was avoidable. Purely the result of Dem policy, not pandemics or any other exogenous force.
It has been decades since I was in San Francisco. I don’t miss it one bit. The way it is governed reflects the will of the people there.
Lived in NorCal 45 years. Stopped visiting SF years ago. Who wants to spend all morning looking for a parking space, then overpay for absolutely everything, then watch people urinate publicly, and top that off with at least one encounter with a crack addict? And it only took us an hour to get there. Why would a family plan a vacation there?
Gary’s hard turn from travel blogger into Fox News wannabe aside, this was a great hotel when I stayed here in 2022. Nice hard product, staff, and elite treatment. Here’s hoping they get back on their feet soon.
I was in San Francisco in September for the first time since the pandemic after having lived in San Jose 12 years ago. I was prepared for the worst, but everything from Nob Hill north felt no different. Yeah the situation in the Tenderloin is awful but implying that the whole city looks like that is a bit misleading.
When major hotels are defaulting in what should be considered alarming numbers, how is that right-wing? When you cannot acknowledge that there has been major degradation in many downtown areas on the West Coast.
I am in the Seattle area and have been my whole life and the filth, graffiti and homeless population has never been worse. While there are still areas that are seemingly unaffected, one cannot with open eyes see how bad it is getting.
Ignoring a problem that has been festering for over a decade, doesn’t make it go away.
San Francisco will be fine. Sure, the weather and permissive culture attracts the nation’s drug addicts and homeless. But it also attracts the best and brightest of the global talent pool. It’s not an accident that you hear much more about the former than the latter. The most productive people in the country are also its most liberal? Hey, look over here, needles!
The city goes through booms and busts like no other. The current bust is coming to end, and the next boom, just like all previous booms, will be exceptionally advantageous to the United States. Hating on San Francisco is hating on the US. If you’re an American, it’s hating on yourself. Don’t let conservative blowhards fool you.
It is funny. I’ve lived in a number of cities with bad crime and social problems. It is never quite as bad for most people as media indicates – some neighborhoods are okay, you can get private security, use private schools, and other things rich people do to separate themselves from the problem. And there are always people who just say “this is fine”.
As to SF, I have not seen a work conference held there in years. If they want more tourists, they have work to do. But maybe outside of the hotels, they don’t care.
My wife and I stayed in San Francisco last weekend. The Westin St. Francis on Union Square remains a great hotel with lots of historic charm. Site of a presidential assassination attempt as one detail.
Anyway, the tenderloin is larger than before and the homeless issue is out of control in that area. Otherwise, the City (as we locals call it) is a lovely as ever.
But your MAGAt readers can continue to berate that which is wildly superior to their glorious communities in TX, OK and AL.
Biden carried fewer than 600 counties out of the more than 3100 in the country. Yet, these blue enclaves make up more than 70% of the national GDP. Places like San Francisco subsidize those of you in Bubbastan whether you’ll admit it or not.
San Francisco has problems (primarily, I’d argue, a housing shortage with several root causes). Homelessness is among them.
But the way other cities deal with homelessness isn’t humane. It’s just that most folks aren’t there when the police sweep through and arrest residents.
I’m not saying I know the right answer here, but I do reject the idea that hiding poverty and drugs in jails is some kind of “solution.”
From what I’ve heard most (not all) of the homelessness problem is actually caused by other policies around housing, like historic preservation protections, weird building codes, zoning rules, NEPA lawsuits, and insanely underfunded inspections departments. That prevents affordable housing from getting built, which eventually results in a large homeless population.
That said, I agree with Corey. This is the Tenderloin, not all of SF. Obviously an issue in some places, but in a weekend trip all over the city last year, we saw like 3 homeless people and zero drugs. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency SoMa. It’s a nice hotel and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Not in the last 20 years have San Francisco lowered their rents to get people to come back! All the empty units and they are like let’s raise the rents even more.
I am not sure that I understand the politically oriented criticism of Gary as it pertains to this particular blog post.
He has cited statistics and noted hotels returned to lenders. Are those leveling criticism denying that SF has problems?
Undoubtedly, media outlets such as Fox News, OAN, and Newsmax tailor their emphasis on reporting things to suit their segment of viewers, as do CNN and MSNBC for their left wing viewers, but I don’t see the outrageous bias in this post.
San Francisco residents voted for this. Why the angst? You asked, you received. Enjoy!
i was just in San Francisco last month for a week. Stayed in the Richmond area as I always do. Stayed clear of the Tenderloin, as I always do. Didnt see any of the mayhem of the tenderloin. The city overall seemed better than it has for years, and still absolutely GORGEOUS. Have lots of friends and family who’ve lived there for years. They admit being upset at many of the problems and mostly support the incoming new mayor. Most of them believe the worst is behind them and that the new mayor and new perspectives will restore the city. Already feels on the upswing to me! Still vibrant, beautiful, and with great food and access to nature. ‘
Gary – have those hotels you mentioned actually shut down, or is ownership just transferring? you dont mention it.
SF has its issues just like any other city and is actively working on them. It’s still gorgeous, with great access to nature and a dynamism that few other places have. If some want to stay away because of fearmongering, good. Stay away. Those who know will continue to make a great place even better.
Still trying to find any sympathy for the folks living there who have continuously voted a particular way that enables this kind of behavior…
Nope, can’t find any.
Hoping Austin is next…
What an absolute garbage article. The problems with the city stem from a former mayor making corrupt back room deals with tech companies who hardly invested in the city and left it high and dry after the tax breaks ended. How is that the voter’s faults? Politicians of both parties are guilty of making the exact same type of deals to the detriment of their base. San Francisco is not “collapsing”, the metropolitan area has more people than ever before and hasn’t gotten any cheaper. Came here from boarding area and I’ll make sure to avoid this hack of a blog in the future.
Had to come back here to see whether the typical right-wingers showed up to shovel their turds, and they sure did. You won, now try to govern.
Fellas, as it relates to aviation gossip, which I thought was the purpose of Gary’s blog, did you ever notice how the airlines seem to know where to position their best domestic products?
Like, Delta One, United Polaris, American Flagship, and jetBlue Mint are mostly NYC-SFO/LAX. Curious.
They ain’t flying the nice stuff from Texas to Idaho or Maine. Nope. Just old-ass 737-800s and CRJ9s for you.
I hear they may finally open a Four Points by Sheraton in your small town. How exciting for you!
Agreed with some of the others here. I stayed at this property a couple of weeks ago during a visit with our infant, and the city is mostly just evolving from before with no major changes from street level. The area around the hotel is perfectly safe, and the walk to Union Square was easy, comfortable, and far from dangerous. The streets are still bustling, and with a few large exceptions there is plenty of retail and commerce options compared to most other cities and towns!
I agree that SF’s leadership has not been good and the resultant crime and high costs are a product of that poor leadership.
I am still waiting for the MAGA supporters to blame the longstanding republican leaders in MS, AL, LA, etc for the huge problems in those states.
Pro tip: neither party has a monopoly on poor leadership and blaming only party exposes your hypocrisy.
1990,
Stay salty and mentally deranged! You and Tim deserve each other!
What ignorant people here fail to realize is The Tenderloin actually has some fantastic restaurants, especially the Pakistani, Indian and Thai variety.
Yeas, The Tenderloin is a bit of a screwed up place, however whenever we visit San Francisco, we never feel worried about going there at night.
Also, most of San Francisco is totally fine. People need to stop watching Faux News and get out and travel more often.
The idea that blue cities have higher gdp’s than red areas is founded in misunderstanding of the population.
Blue cities were red a long time ago, and grew thanks to favorable geography and conservative politics.
Today, the majority of cities lean democrat. Who thin those cities are conservatives that work in white and blue collar work and are economically productive. The majority that vote blue are typically young professionals that haven’t matured yet, welfare queens and are obsessed with far left social issues. These folks tend to be less productive and contributory to gdp.
The idea that blue cities have higher gdp’s than red areas is founded in misunderstanding of the population.
Blue cities were red a long time ago, and grew thanks to favorable geography and conservative politics. Today they’re stagnating.
Today, the majority of cities lean democrat. Within those cities are conservatives that work in white and blue collar work and are economically productive. They’re a minority. The majority vote blue, and are typically young professionals that haven’t matured yet, welfare queens, and/or those obsessed with far left social issues. These folks tend to be less productive and contributory to gdp.
I visit SF at least once a month and agree with many of the responses above. Other than the Tenderloin and SoMa I feel perfectly safe as a solo traveler. Union Square is a nice place for a coffee break. Nob Hill is just as pristine as before. The outer Richmond still has sidewalk dining. The Ferry Building is bustling every time I’m there. (Has anyone seen the Let’s Glow SF light shows this month, gone to a First Thursday street party or patronized the various pop-up venues around the Embarcadero?) I won’t sugar coat it. The city still has big challenges for the new mayor and hotels are still struggling, but it’s not quite the apocalyptic doom that social media wants everyone to believe.
@Steve
Thank you, sir. I wouldn’t have it any other way–literally–because of the ‘derangement’ and all. Haven’t seen any ‘Tim’ here yet. If you were referring to frequent commenter @Tim Dunn, I am sure he will make his way around to this one, too, and spew his usual hate. He (and others) gotta blame Democrats, immigrants, alphabet-folks, and other boogeymen, instead of actually fixing anything.
Gary,
Missing from your commentary: “I haven’t visited SF for some time so I can’t comment on what’s happening there”
I live in the area and work in the City most days of the week. The pearl-clutching SF-haters are so full of bull that it is surprising they can see. This is a marvelous place to live and work, and moving here in the 1980s was a great treat and continues to be one to this day.
Like all big cities, we have a poor underclass centered around a couple of pretty dicey areas— but every city I’ve ever lived in or visited has exactly the same thing. San Francisco crime is way, way down. Guess what? Even though I’m in the city most days, I spend little to no time in the affected areas. And that’s pretty much everybody’s take: the City has so many just gorgeous places that there’s literally no reason to spend time in the gray spaces.
The homeless situation isn’t declining, it’s improving. Already, the Financial District and most of the neighborhoods are at about 10% of the homeless people hanging around during 2001-10. The City has had a handle on getting people housed, and it shows. NO, not in the center of the Tenderloin or around Mission and Sixth — but these were ALWAYS crummy, at least as far back as 1975 on the first visit I had here.
Nobody likes that the City is expensive. Too bad. According to my father in law, the City was way too expensive when they moved here in 1951. It always has been; probably always will be. No different than NYC. A problem if you are financially challenged. An inconvenience if you have a regular paycheck and love our area: we do a lot of free stuff (there’s always something super interesting going on for free), and we and our neighbors live on a different scale than most middle-class Americans—- OUR HOUSES ARE SMALLER. Yes, you can’t move here and live in a 3,000 sq ft modern house on a moderate income. That’s the breaks….. We trade it off for good weather and plenty of stimulation OUTSIDE the house. Again, a lot like NYC. Or London. Or Paris. And a whole bunch of our friends rent permanently, and they’re rather smug about paying no property tax, avoiding maintenance, and having somebody else to call when the fridge goes out.
No, you won’t like my town if you are afraid of people from different cultures. You won’t like it if you’re dedicated to giant motor vehicles (parking will be rough). If you can’t conceive of riding the bus or the metro or BART or a train, you’ll get pretty upset that parking is rare and expensive. And while UBER and taxis are fairly cheap and clean, just like in other cities during our (thankfully rare) rain you’ll find getting a ride hard if you can’t give up and hop the bus. You also won’t enjoy SF if you don’t plan for our restaurant costs — they’re as high as NYC, but you know that there are always cheaper places for casual eats— They’re more than you’re used to, too. But stick to your budget; great food is available here at every price point. Don’t settle for McDonalds just because that’s familiar. Try something new.
Finally: if you rely on the SF-haters for your advice, maybe you simply shouldn’t come here without a serious recalibration. Do you really think this got to be the 4th largest metropolitan area in America by having us all hating the place, frightened, and moving away? Do you think the media haters don’t just resent the fact that our home voted for their least-favorite party by a lopsided 80-16%? We are an easy target; we are not buying the crap they’re peddling, and no king likes to hear he has no clothes. (Check the vote yourself; San Francisco and Marin Counties voted against Trump by roughly 80-16%. https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2024-general/sov/16-president.pdf).
I travel both domestically and worldwide about once a month and have done so since 1979. I would choose San Francisco as an area to move to if I didn’t already do so 37 years ago. If fits my family, it fits my neighbors, and if it doesn’t fit you there’s plenty of other places you can go, and frankly we’d wish you well and we wouldn’t miss you much. If a real city is not for you, that’s your prerogative, but don’t slam those of us who like it.
For others who neither fall for the political brainwashing you’re hearing nor have a closed mind about urban alternatives, or just want to see how your fellow Americans live in a considerably different environment than typical everyday USA, please DO come to San Francisco and maybe you will be as delighted and astounded by what IS one of the most beautiful and dynamic cities you will find, worldwide. We’d be happy to have you join us, even for a long weekend.
Democratic policies at their finest. Should also mention that onerous Covid restrictions did the city in. Look at states that basically stayed open and didn’t have ridiculous restrictions like mask mandates. But California sure did save lives and stopped the spread! Way to go!
@Brian
I looked. California is still the largest economy, then Texas, then New York. So, covid policies didn’t matter, either way. Facts don’t care about your feelings, it seems.
The person posting as “1990” is why Democrats will continue to keep losing everywhere. And I absolutely love it. The lack of self-awareness, the doubling down on stupidity, the belief that Kamala Harris / Gavin Newsom are the future! Utterly hysterical. Cry more tears, soy boy. San Fran is done. Socialism is evil. The American working class despises the Democrat party (for good reason). This video is just one more proof point.
@Gary Enough with the Fox News propaganda. You left out critical facts from the story:
While the NY-based hotelier, Highgate, did surrender the Hyatt Regency SOMA, they picked up *another SF property* around the same time (Line Hotel, soon to be part of Curio Collection).
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/popular-trendy-san-francisco-hotel-changes-19990947.php
When was the last time you visited SF? As a resident, I invite you to visit the city and see for yourself that we are still the most beautiful city in the country and on our way up, not down.
@Rolla Coasta
Please keep calling me names and other ism’s. Personally, I prefer oatmilk. Liberal and progressive policies are wildly popular to most people. While the ‘blue team’ lost this round, the pendulum will swing back. What else you got?
The issue that I have always had with this hotel is management, not the city of San Francisco.
It was the first hotel in the city to impose a $35.00 Destination Charge, for little in return.
It was a Westin for years, maybe ANA, and Le Meridien at one point after Park Central.
A soulless hotel for sure with little in the way of amenities, aside from location to Moscone Convention Center.
I have to laugh when the MAGAs go on and on about the Democrat-controlled urban areas. Yet they never say anything about the poor rural areas that they control, like West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, et al. Those areas have just as many social problems as San Francisco.
Rural areas without jobs or public transportation and filled with people so scared of “outsiders” that they push the embarrassing bigotry we see in the news everyday are simply a non-starter for many of us who like dynamic, diverse cities. No thanks, haters. We see something we like in urban, metropolitan settings and San Francisco exemplifies this, and has a perfectly gorgeous setting as a bonus. You do yours. We’ll do ours, and we’re doing just fine, thanks, on the scale of a world-class city. Meanwhile, take your baloney about “The Democrat Party”, godless liberals and other insulting fox-isms and just keep thinking Dallas is where the world’s travelers wish they be. Yeah, sure.
There’s a political science observation (named after a long-ago mayor of Boston) that claims a way to hold onto power for you and your political descendants is to make remaining in the city undesirable for those who would vote against you. Thus, Detroit lost two-thirds of its population 1950-2020, while the Wayne County non-Detroit population doubled. Is that what’s happening here?
@1990
Newsflash, Einstein: You lost the White House. You lost the Senate. You still don’t control the House. You lost the popular vote. You lost the Electoral College. And you’re still losing to common sense conservatives on the Supreme Court (who follow constitutional law).
Cry harder, blue boy.
@Roller Coasta
Crying is my kink. So, thank you for helping me get off, once again. Ahh.
It’s a fact: The ‘red team’ won this time. No one said they did not.
So, what are their plans, anyway? Tax cuts for billionaires and deregulation.
As it related to this blog, the ‘red team’ wants to abolish the CFPB, an agency which actually helps real people, like many of us who follow VFTW, who care about airlines and banks not screwing us out of the bonuses and benefits that we’ve earned. Such policies harm nearly all of us.
You may take joy in harming others, including yourself, but I don’t. You are not a billionaire, or even a centi-millionaire, so you’re not in their club. Mere multimillionaires are relative peasants by comparison. So, please have self-respect and quit bootlicking and carrying water for the oligarchs.
Visiting there now. I’ll take San Francisco over Texas (and its guns, book banning, attacks on reproductive rights, loss of doctors, frequent lawsuits, etc). And I too don’t need Fox news on this blog.
Lots of opinions and insults, but not a ton of facts. I was recently in SF and as some mention, place felt fine and usual SF. But that isn’t the issue.
Hotels and office towers are going under because the city is incrementally unsafe and desolate. Things are not binary. Homelessness, drug use, theft, pulling back on policing, work from home, COL, all contribute to an incremental downgrade of the city. Not to mention the city has a poor reputation (well earned).
And the issue is these are all political choices. Reducing the impact of police on any number of crimes will increase lawlessness. The cities soft on drug stance, combined with no actual ability to get people off drugs, has allowed junkies and homelessness to become pervasive. Taxes, regulations, retail vacancy, major hotels tossing keys to lenders, all contributes to the cities ebbing.
City does seem to be improving from a crime point of view. But it took a decade of liberal leadership to cause these problems.
This site is full of imbeciles. Really sad that a travel site would have such a low intelligence level.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/08/san-franciscos-real-estate-slide-continues-as-office-vacancies-peak.html#:~:text=The%20vacancy%20rate%20for%20San,and%205%25%20before%20the%20pandemic.
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/union-square-sf-retail-vacancy-rate-record-high-19425062.php
Love to hear all the excuses, name calling and so forth from these dyed in the wool California Liberals! They don’t get it and never will and that is why SF and other California cities are in big trouble economically, socially and environmentally. Just look at all of the big companies who are pulling out of California due to the overburdened tax structure and other concerns. SF is no longer a safe city to walk around in and live in. It is not affordable to most and no longer a pleasant place to live unless you like daily interactions with drug users/ dealers, petty criminals, feces and used needles.
1990’s paradise:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/22/women-face-harassment-driverless-taxis-men-chase-block/
If it was really all about the crime and drug problem, something that is very real, that doesn’t explain the hotel occupancy collapse. What does is changing market conditions (work from home translating into less business travel and fewer conventions). You can clean up the streets but that won’t fix those issues. San Francisco has an overcapacity problem…not a collapse…in the hotel space. It will probably never get back to where it was because the economy has changed permanently…or as permanent as anything can be these days…